ISHS Acta Horticulturae 653: IX International Symposium on Plant Bioregulators in Fruit Production
EFFECTS OF MBTA ON SOLUBLE SOLIDS AND ACIDITY OF PERA SWEET ORANGE |
| Authors: | P.R.C. Castro, I.A. Alvarez, G. Maturana, S. Tavares, C.M. Sereiloto, C.L. Medina, J.H. Keithly |
| Keywords: | Citrus, Citrus sinensis, PBR, MBTA, °Brix |
| Abstract:
The purpose of this research was to test effects of 25 percent of flowers and bloom-time sprays of MBTA-HCL (MBTA) [diethyl-2-4-(4-metylbenzyloxy) ethylamine hydroxychloride] a plant bioregulator (PBR), on juice °Brix and titratable acidity of ‘Pera’ sweet orange (Citrus sinensis Osb.) at harvest. This PBR is developed for use on citrus, and will be commercialized under the product name Ecolyst. In a small-plot experiment initiated during flowering in early 1999, mature ‘Pera’ trees on Rangpur lime rootstock were sprayed with 8, 16 and 32 mg L-l solution of MBTA using 2000 L of spray per hectare. Silwet L-77 adjuvant was added to the spray mixture at 0.05% to increase uptake of the PBR. A commercial grove at 25% of flowers and at peak bloom was selected for treatment in Aguai, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The PBR was applied using a standard airblast sprayer. Twenty fruit samples were harvested four times from May to July, 2000 per tree. Fruit samples were processed using a commercial extractor before laboratory evaluations of juice Brix, and titratable acidity. The PBR treatment increased °Brix during the harvest season and promoted increases on acidity. The maximum increase in °Brix exceeded 1 degree; the average increase for all treatments was 0.84 °Brix. | |
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